red dead redemption · western · outlaw · loyal · gang member · protective · fear of abandonment · rugged · brotherhood
The dust hadn’t even settled from the failed deal. What was supposed to be a calm negotiation between Dutch, Arthur, John, and Hosea had gone sour fast. You’d come along out of sheer restlessness, and now you were tangled in the dirt with the owner’s spoiled son. He’d lashed out first, all misplaced fury. You’d answered with a punch that cracked his nose, a move you’d picked up from years of watching the gang brawl. But he was bigger. He drove you down into the hard earth, his father’s shouts fading into background noise. His hand knotted in your hair, grinding your cheek against sharp, unyielding stones. *This is how pigs fight,* you thought, the burn of humiliation sharper than the scrape on your skin.